Kris Sollid, R.D., is the Senior Director for Research and Consumer Insights at the International Food Information Council (IFIC). A registered dietitian with a passion for improving nutrition science communications, his role at IFIC includes leading consumer research projects, educational resource development, social and traditional media engagement, and written contributions to various consumer, trade, and peer-reviewed publications.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with Kris [1:20] about:

1. The methodology and key metrics of IFIC's 20th annual "Food and Health Survey," which found that consumer confidence in the safety of the U.S. food supply has hit a 13-year low
2. Specific beliefs driving consumers' declining confidence in U.S. food safety, including the perception of food corporations prioritizing profits over safety, as well as the perceived inadequacy of federal regulatory oversight of the food supply
3. Key findings from IFIC's supplemental "Americans' Perceptions of Food Recalls" survey
4. Whether consumer concerns about rising recall rates reflect reality, based on FDA and USDA recall data
5. How high-profile recalls associated with severe or far-reaching foodborne illness outbreaks may influence consumer perceptions about the number of recalls
6. Another IFIC supplemental survey on Americans' perceptions of FDA's Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) program, and what the results say about consumer confidence in food safety, as well as their GRAS awareness
7. The potential influence of U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s (RFK Jr.'s) "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) movement on consumer perceptions of food ingredient safety in the U.S. food supply and the federal government's responsibility for oversight.

Resources

2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey: A Focus on Food & Nutrition

IFIC Spotlight Survey: Americans' Perceptions of Food Recalls

IFIC Spotlight Survey: Americans' Perceptions of the U.S. FDA GRAS Program

Survey: Confidence in U.S. Food Safety Hits Record Low, Foodborne Pathogens Are Top Concern

John Spink, Ph.D. is the Director and Lead Instructor for the Food Fraud Prevention Academy, as well as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Supply Chain Management (SCM) in the College of Business at Michigan State University (MSU). His food fraud prevention research focuses on policy and strategy to understand and prevent supply chain disruptions and to implement procurement best practices. He is widely published in leading academic journals and has helped lead national and global regulatory and standards activity. More recently, his teaching and research has expanded to supply chain disruption management and procurement best practices.

Roy Fenoff, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at The Military College of South Carolina (The Citadel). He is also a Forensic Handwriting and Document Examiner and an expert in forgery detection. Dr. Fenoff specializes in forgery and document fraud, food fraud and protection, and transnational crime.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with Drs. Spink and Fenoff [33:30] about:

• Their recurring workshop and certificate course for the annual Food Safety Summit on food fraud prevention
• What makes food fraud an urgent and misunderstood issue
• The intersections between food safety and food fraud
• Different ways to check for, catch, and trace food fraud
• The elements of a comprehensive food fraud vulnerability assessment
• Focus areas for companies trying to develop a deep enough understanding of their supply chains and end products to prevent food fraud from occurring
• How to implement a food fraud prevention strategy and management system, which is taught during Drs. Spink and Fenoff's annual Food Safety Summit course, and how course participants respond to and have applied these teachings within their companies
• What Drs. Spink and Fenoff find both meaningful and challenging about their food fraud prevention and research work.

News and Resources

News

Color Manufacturers Sue West Virginia Over 'Unconstitutional' Food Dye Ban [7:08]

California Enacts Law Defining Ultra-Processed Foods, Will Ban UPFs in Schools [14:40]

Reagan-Udall Report Explores Strengthening Cross-Sector Responses to Food Safety Threats [23:09]

Novel Salmonella Vaccine Shows Promise in Clinical Trial [28:57]

Resources

"Ultraprocessed Nation" in the New York Times' October 20, 2025 "The Morning" newsletter

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David T. Dyjack, Dr.P.H., CIH has served as Executive Director and CEO of the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) since May 2015. Dr. Dyjack's 30-year career includes expertise in environmental health, emergency preparedness and response, public health informatics, infectious disease, workforce development, governmental infrastructure, maternal and child health, health equity, and chronic disease. A board-certified industrial hygienist, Dr. Dyjack also has advanced degrees in public health with a doctorate from the University of Michigan and a master's degree from the University of Utah.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with Dr. Dyjack [36:33] about:

• Which demographics may make up the future food safety workforce, based on NEHA data, and what professional support they may need
• How the learning preferences of younger generations are shaping current education and training initiatives for the food safety sector
• Shifting priorities at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and their potential influence on the future food safety workforce
• Industry's role in attracting and educating the future food safety workforce, and how NEHA works with industry to help realize these goals
• The work of NEHA's Food Safety Committee to help address food safety workforce training gaps and emerging challenges
• Who can benefit from NEHA's food safety courses and certificate programs
• The need for additional emergency preparedness training to mitigate food safety risks associated with increasing and more severe natural disasters brought on by climate change.

News and Resources

Government Shutdown Affects Food Safety: HHS Furloughs Employees, FDA Pauses CORE Investigation Table, Federal Layoffs to Hit HHS Amid Government Shutdown, May Affect Food Safety Staffers [3:08]

Another Death Reported in Listeria Outbreak Linked to Prepared Pasta Meals [8:09]

FDA Reveals Unsolved E. Coli Outbreak in New Foodborne Illness Outbreak Transparency Tools [16:19]

Fruit, Salmonella Caused Most Multistate Foodborne Illness Outbreaks in 2023, per CDC [19:16]

Four-Year UK Foodborne Pathogen Surveillance Program Concludes, FSA to Launch New Initiative [23:47]

USDA-FSIS Now Includes Gluten in Major Allergen Verification Activities [29:51]

Sponsored by:

Michigan State University Online Food Safety

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Please send us your questions and suggestions to podcast@food-safety.com